The people at Wotif.com tell me that lots of customers love surprises. What's more, the mystery deals are cheaper than even Wotif.com's regular discounted prices for the same hotel.
Before leaving Auckland, we'd done some research on ways to keep a young family busy in rainy Rotorua. We also picked up a photocopied sheet of ideas from the tourist office the last time we passed through the city.
Come Saturday morning, the rain was still belting down and we headed to the Rotorua Museum. We'd been before, but the Victorian bathing equipment, which looks more like something the KGB might use in its interrogation rooms, is always a hit.
Museums know how to make old things fun for kids these days and mine did the junior discovery trail - marking off weird and wonderful contraptions ranging from an old boiler in the basement to a radio used by the Maori Battalion in World War II.
We left, the kids clutching certificates for their efforts, and dashed a few hundred metres to the Rotorua Arts Village (aka RAVE). There wasn't much on when we popped in. But the most impressive origami exhibition I've ever seen kept my kids busy as we planned the rest of the day.
Having seen all the tourist attractions that interested us many times before, we turned our attention to other indoor pursuits, including cinemas, a beading studio, indoor climbing, ten pin bowling, karting and a Chipmunks Playland. It's possible to do all these things at home. But somehow they're easier to do on holiday - especially if, like me, the smell of Rotorua sparks feelings of being on holiday in your brain.
Also, most of Rotorua's attractions are very close to each other - we were able to walk between most. Fortunately Zippy's Cafe, my top pick for a caffeine hit, was right in the middle of them.
Our Rotorua Visitors Centre guide agreed that choosing activities where you're going to get wet anyway made sense on rainy days.
These include the Zorb, rafting, kayaking and swimming at one of the many pools in the city. Some mainly outdoor attractions also have indoor sections worth visiting, such as Te Puia, the Maori Arts Centre, the Buried Village museum and the gondola.
After an action-packed day, we whiled away the hour before dinner in an internet cafe: me catching up on the news and the kids playing games. At $4 an hour per computer, it didn't break the bank.
Rotorua, it has to be said, isn't renowned for its haute cuisine. There are, however, wall-to-wall restaurants on Tutanekai St, from Whakaue St and Arawa St, and - thanks to a large portico - it's possible to check out the options in comfort.
We chose the Fat Dog Cafe in Arawa St, where the charming menu and decor are redolent of a decade when cafes were bright and eclectic and nachos were an exotic food. Parking's easy at night, which means you won't get wet on your way there.
On the morning of our final day, we headed for The Redwoods, an area of exotic forest on the southern edge of the city, for a spot of mountain biking. Although this might seem like a strange choice on a wet weekend, The forest canopy is so thick that it holds off light rain completely.
Bikes can be hired in town or at the forest from Planet Bike. The company offers a free shuttle to the forest and other popular mountain biking areas around Rotorua. And, if you have a larger budget than ours, you can do an all-in-one package where you get bike hire, tuition if necessary and a guide.
The forest has easy routes for kids, or 60km of challenging ones for the adults. We chose self-guided and were happy to tootle around the visitors' centre. The weather finally cleared, allowing us to take the Sulphur Point walk/cycleway all the way back to town.
The route doesn't cross the road once and passes the revamped Sulphur Point thermal area bordering Lake Rotorua, so we were home and dry.
CHECKLIST
Where to stay: Check out wotif.com.
Getting around: Planet Bike is a good option.
Further information: See roturuanz.com.
